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Alistair Crackham
Alistair Crackham is the political leader, A.K.A. High Consul, of the New Imperium and the Lord Commander of an elite Reformed Imperial Guard Regiment called "The Consul's Chosen". Being a cheery man from birth, Alistair acts quite like the energetic child when things go his way, preferably in a surprising manner. However, his brutal and hardening career aside, overtaking an entire nation from the brink and pioneering it into an era of enlightenment has warped his personality into a rather blurry state. Hence, while Alistair maintains his "mask" and remains mostly optimistic when he is in public, his inner demons plague his mind whenever he acquires some privacy. His fears and inner demons are legion and quite depressive, which is why he does his best to hide his true nature of a tired, scarred and mournful man as well as possible. This situation also caused him to be rather secretive as he mostly hides his real intentions and emotions even from his closest allies. Born on Crimson Terra into the noble House Crackham, Alistair held many titles and honors before becoming the High Consul of the New Imperium, even rising as far as the Lord Solar. Eventually realizing that the Imperium of Man was beyond salvation, Alistair conspired with some of the other High Lords of Terra and successfully led a massive revolution against the Imperium, replacing it with a smaller yet "unshackled" New Imperium. Alistair is a natural leader, veteran soldier and an expert strategist. However, he is filled to the brim with scepticism and distrust, a man best described as "always on guard". Moreover, even though he is a brilliant commander, he is also somewhat reclusive, both in terms of belief and strategies. A man who experienced many victories and defeats, Alistair is a good and benevolent leader to his people, but an unforgiving enemy to those who betray his moral code and the New Imperium. Biography Early Life Alistair was a "noble-born", as he states. His family, the House Crackham, were one of the many influential noble houses within the Imperium of Man. However, Alistair was no ordinary noble, as he often ran away from their parents' estate and spent most of his time on the streets of Terra. He had, and still has, a fiery spirit that always hated the nobility within the Imperium, which perhaps began as childish hate towards their strict and sometimes outright abrupt court etiquette and eventually evolved into the realization that the Imperial nobility was corrupt to the bone. He grew up in the dirty streets of Holy Terra as he spent his time mostly on the alleys, realizing the grave truth behind his wealthy life. When he was 10, he secretly started working with a small gang that consisted of entirely children and was horrified when he saw what the people of the Imperium suffered every day. While his parents were busy protecting their influence or deciding where their hunting parties would be, Alistair was always in trouble. Unlike his other 6 siblings, he had an adventurous personality that cared little for the corrupt bureaucracy within the Imperium. He was also a great learner, with his intelligence impressing even his greatest tutors. However, he faced dire situations on more than one occasion as he had to do many dirty deeds, such as going into gang fights to survive within the decaying streets of Terra. He never liked his privileges but made great use of them, mostly by learning from the best tutors his family could afford. The great turning point in the life of this noble but adventurous child was the first time he met an officer of the Imperial Guard. When he turned 16, a Colonel named Murad Carollus visited their estate to deliver an important message to House Crackham from his general, who was actually a distant relative. The young Alistair had always wanted to leave his homeworld and explore the Galaxy and for that reason he wanted to persuade the Colonel to take him into the Imperial Guard, but he was considered too young and bold to even chat with him. Disappointed, Alistair had to obey his father and didn't even got close to the Colonel. The same night, he and his gang decided to raid a depot they've been observing for a month in order to sell its contents on the black market. Alistair had no interest in the contents, but he had seen how his fellow gangsters lived and believed that he was helping those in need by stealing from those who had more than what they needed. However, as they entered the depot, they quickly realized that the depot was actually empty. They were surrounded before even having the time to realize it was a trap. A rival gang that Alistair fought against had lured them to the depot to enact their revenge. When Murad Carollus arrived on the scene with a few arbitrators, he discovered that Alistair was the sole survivor of the conflict, as his entire gang was wiped out. However, Murad Carollus was impressed with Alistair's martial skills as he had bested the last 5 members of the rival gang all by himself, with his bare hands nonetheless. Murad gave the young boy a choice: he would either continue living his life on Terra, or would join the Officio Prefectus to serve in the Emperor's army. Alistair didn't even took a second breath as he agreed to do the latter. Murad Carollus then proceeded to secretly train Alistair for the next 4 years, showing him many new "tricks" and improving his martial skills considerably. After 4 years, Alistair had already learned all he could from him. Murad Carollus was very impressed with his student and was not saddened when his regiment was called back to active duty. His last words to his student before he departed were: Later on, Murad Carollus left his brilliant student on Terra and departed. Alistair never heard from this Colonel nor his regiment ever again. It is even rumored that the High Consul spent entire months in the Imperial archives to learn his fate but ultimately failed. Commissar Crackham When Alistair said to his parents that he wanted to enter the Officio Prefectus to become a commissar, they were more than happy to let him leave. The adventurous Alistair Crackham then departed to an Officio Prefectus base, hoping to get out of the political life he was born into and see some real action. However, things never went as he expected and he faced politics again and again. This time though, he understood that no matter what he did, politics were unavoidable. Understanding that he can't get away from them, Alistair decided to start learning the ropes instead. There, Alistair improved his skills considerably and realized how people idolized the Emperor of Mankind. He was strictly taught to believe in the Imperial Cult, but Alistair was not a normal soldier to obey such commands. He had always been creative and appeared as a devout on the outside while always wondering why people worshiped a man who claimed to be no such god inside. Indeed, Alistair's noble blood and connections in his family had also allowed the young commissar-in-training to learn about the "heretical" Imperial Truth. However, Alistair was not a man that accepted ideas quickly, not to mention that he also possessed some form of pride and his faith in the Emperor's wisdom was already shaken from what he witnessed and learned. Dabbling in his own emotions, Alistair finally and quite arrogantly decided that how the Emperor treated religions was harsh and unnecessary. He finally settled on the thought that mankind had to believe, but no one had the right to forcefully change the religious beliefs of someone. This philosophy stuck with him and became one of his core values, eventually evolving into the "New Imperial Secularism" he declared when he became the High Consul. Alistair was trained by "Unity", a legendary commissar that had discarded his real name to show that he had left his life before becoming a commissar behind. Unity was an experienced, extremely stern commissar but was still a leader that cared for his troopers, a trait that often inspired Alistair. Under Unity's training and watchful eye, Alistair traveled from planet to planet and fought on many fronts with great valor. He even once led a huge strike team to kill an Ork Warboss in the now destroyed world of Primus V. The strike team was composed of men and women who went to this suicide mission voluntarily because of their trust in Alistair. The mission was initially a success, but only Alistair and 10 other guardsmen returned from the field of battle. Alistair reported their success personally to Unity and was nearly executed for insubordination because of this act. However, killing the warboss leading an Ork WAAAAGH! on the planet was no small feat, even though around a hundred Imperial Guard died along the way. Alistair had greatly overestimated their chances, being caught up in the lust for glory and all those that shared his enthusiasm had paid a much worse price. Perhaps Unity saw this as a lesson or something more sinister occurred, that is uncertain. What's certain was that the Commissariat forgave Alistair and Unity decided to continue teaching him. However, the young Cadet Commissar learned an important lesson that day: He couldn't save everyone but had to minimize the casualties however he could instead. The Commissariat eventually pardoned Alistair completely after an investigation but gave the credit of this operation to the General leading the war instead, much to the dismay of the young Cadet Commissar. Alistair would never forget all those who valiantly fought with him during that day and also had their names written on a monument in Primus V after becoming a General himself. As the young recruit continued to show amazing potential, the Officio Prefectus and by extent Unity decided to graduate the young Commissar a whole year ahead of schedule at the age of 25. Alistair finished his training with success and was even declared the finest swordsman Unity had ever trained. Indeed, Alistair's skill in wielding swords and melee weapons were second to none alongside his fellow Cadet Commissars, a result of the untold swordsmanship lessons he had taken thanks to his family fortune. Because of this remark, his parents presented him a gift, an ancient power sword bearing the signature of House Crackham with the words "Justice lies in the edge of this sword. No one corrupt shall wield it." inscribed on it. Alistair named his power sword "Justice Incarnate" and it became his primary weapon of choice. The Young Commissar was first deployed on a small regiment in Segmentum Obscurus, collectively called the "Alexandrian Destroyers" that hailed from the Civilized world of Alexandria. Alistair believed that order could be ensured with inspiration, rather than fear. As a result, he became an inspirational figure for his men, always trying to boost their morale. He also never truly obeyed orders and disregarded them if they would harm his men or the assets of the Imperium, an act that angered many within the Commissariat on more than one occasion. He and his regiment traveled from planet to planet, experiencing many horrors, as the young commissar quickly became a battle-hardened warrior even though he was younger than most of his soldiers. He spent 10 years in the 16th Alexandrian Destroyers until the events on the civilized world of Capratchii IV, which would become another turning point in Alistair's life. Capratchii IV The desert world of Capratchii IV, located in the edges of Segmentum Solar, proved to be a turning point in Alistair's life. Alistair and the 16th Alexandrian Destroyers were deployed to the planet in order to assist the 1st Capratchiian Mechanized Infantry with recovering a Standard Template Construct. What turned the mission into a disaster was actually the arrival of Lord Solar Diomedes on the planet to oversee the mission. As the 16th Alexandrian Destroyers and 1st Capratchiian Mechanized Infantry advanced to the designated location alongside the overenthusiastic Lord Solar, everyone was uneasy about the sudden rise of the mission's importance. Seconds after the Lord Solar Diomedes stepped out of his Bandeblade to raise morale, a mine exploded and the pieces of the Baneblade scattered all across the advancing formations. Alistair's voice echoed through every head: The 16th Alexandrian Destroyers and 1st Capratchiian Mechanized Infantry were ambushed by forces of Chaos, the Emperor's Children. The 16th Alexandrian Destroyers rushed to find cover while the 1st Capratchiian Mechanized Infantry set up their heavy guns. It was a slaughter, the forces of Chaos had caught them entirely off guard. Under direct bolter fire, Alistair and the acting commanders of the regiments, alongside Lord Solar Diomedes, set up a defense line. The guard fought bravely but Alistair quickly realized that his men were wavering and melting like ice on a frying pan. The skies were contested so extraction was not an option. They fought for hours but finally the chaos marines managed to break the Imperial Guard's line. As every soldier used their bodies as meat shields to protect the Lord Solar, Alistair devised a crazy, devilish solution. Because the acting commanders of both the 16th Alexandrian Destroyers and 1st Capratchiian Mechanized Infantry had died, he assumed command of both regiments and used the tanks that still worked as "walking cover". As almost all the remaining soldiers held their rear and tanks provided cover around their flanks to the base, Alistair and Diomedes, alongside the wounded and the important officers, ran for their lives. Barely managing to escape from the ambush site alongside the scarred remnants of the 1st Capratchiian Mechanized Infantry and 16th Alexandrian Destroyers, Diomedes was quick to order an aerial bombardment on the region. Further investigation confirmed that more than a half of the 1st Capratchiian Mechanized Infantry and nearly all of the 16th Alexandrian Destroyers were destroyed. This devastation was a result of all the brave Alexandrians drawing fire on themselves in order to loosen the pressure on the 1st Capratchiian Mechanized Infantry and they held even held the entire pressure of the enemy at bay while the Lord Solar escaped. Alistair felt shame and dishonor once more as he was unable to keep his men alive again. However, he was nonetheless awarded 3 medals by Diomedes himself, who also gave him the direct command of the 2nd Capratchiian Mechanized Infantry, merging it with the 1st Capratchiian Mechanized Infantry and the survivors of the 16th Alexandrian Destroyers. Rising Through the Ranks Alistair led the 2nd Capratchiian Mechanized Infantry for 15 years, always fighting alongside Diomedes due to the growing friendship between them. Colonel-Commissar Crackham participated in many crusades and conflicts, bringing the power of the Imperium to anywhere he stepped on. He treated his men as best as he could, but the way his colleagues acted within their regiments angered Alistair, even terrified at some points. Doubt was brewing within his heart as he wondered whether they served the people of the Imperium, or just a group of aristocrats that only worked to fill their coffers. He was a respected commander, but as the seeds of doubt started to shake the foundations of his moral beliefs, he started to question. He never believed what he was taught in Schola Progenium, about the Emperor and the role he was tasked with, but he considered that waging war for the survival of mankind was an important and laudable goal. Now, he had found his beliefs tested on every aspect as he saw entire worlds being torched simply because a small hint of heresy was suspected. He saw men and women thrown into a battlefield so big that it looked like nothing more than a colossal meat grinder. While he agreed that fighting for mankind was a great honor, he wondered if they truly did so. When he was not alone, he would appear as usual: cheerful and battle-ready. But when alone, doubts would constantly plague his mind. Doubts that made him spend sleepless nights, each and every one of them filled with different terrors and fears. Regardless of his beliefs and moral values, however, Alistair always fought alongside the Lord Solar and even saved his life on more than one occasion. Because of that, he was quick to rise in the ranks of the Imperial Guard. Indeed, Alistair was granted the opportunity to leave the rank of commissar behind and advance through the ranks of the Imperial Guard as an officer. However, this didn't help his troubled state of mind. Even worse, as his ranks changed, so did he. Colonel-Commissar Alistair was a cheerful man, filled with hope and an unbreakable will. General Alistair Crackham was a thoughtful man who cared for the soldiers under his command and always fought to inspire them. Lord General Alistair was a man who worked as much as he could, spending entire weeks solely planning and improving his strategies. Lord General Militant Alistair was an anomaly, a man who masked his emotions behind a cheery mask. He was a man who stood at the side of his troops and worked to comfort them, knowing that they would perish in the hours that followed. For his fellow Generals and Lord Generals, he was a genius and brilliant tactician, one that listened and cared about the thoughts of his fellow officers and worked to find a path with minimal casualties. He appeared as a calm soldier with a clever mind, yet none knew the ever-increasing anger that lurked within him. However, regardless of where he served on and what he thought, he remained as a figure of inspiration to his soldiers, always seen in the thick of the fight, armed with his iconic power sword "Justice Incarnate". Alistair had grown up within the fires of war and he learned that within this colossal battlefield inactivity was not an option. Danger on New Fronts Alistair's friendship with Diomedes was strong, but not unbreakable. While the Imperium of Man was busy maintaining the sectors under their command, corrupt and powerful leaders were rising to fill their coffers as the bloating colossal ship called the Imperium of Man kept on sinking. One of those men was the Lord Commander of Segmentum Tempestus, Julianus and when Alistair and Diomedes had a heated argument regarding the state of the Imperium, in which Alistair pointed out the corruption and sternly asked Diomedes if there could be any reforms made, it was him that Diomedes mentioned as an example. He knew of the rot under Julianus but he also thought that in all scenarios in which they acted the losses would outweigh the gains. Their friendship had started to decay long before this argument but it had been the final nail in the coffin, for it convinced Diomedes that Alistair was shortsighted while it made Alistair certain that Diomedes lacked the backbone to make necessary reforms. They still maintained their bond and Alistair maintained his hard-earned rank but Diomedes began to distance himself from Alistair. Eventually, the Lord General Militant was sent to serve under Julianus because Diomedes had started to suspect if his best ally Alistair had turned into a renegade or worse. However, in his temporary purgatory, Alistair planned to stir up as much as trouble as he could and accepted the task with a clear mind but a weary heart. Alistair served under Julianus for 5 years, learning the ropes, making enemies and allies alike. One of these allies became his liaison on the Segmentum, a colonel called Aloysius "Hardcase". While their meeting was not on the best of terms and went quite tense, Alistair quickly formed a tight-knit friendship with Aloysius thanks to the latter's genial and energetic stance. Through Aloysius, he learned many things about Segmentum Tempestus, specifically Krieg and its culture. This fractured and broken planet amazed Alistair so much that he started wearing a uniform resembling the commanders of the Death Korps. However, during this time of learning and rather uneasy peace, Alistair most certainly gathered a lot more enemies than allies. Julianus had turned into one of those powerful enemies primarily because of Alistair's stern attitude regarding his actions, legal or otherwise. Not waiting much longer after his profits experienced a sharp decline thanks to Alistair, Julianus finally decided to finish him silently and hired one of the best bounty hunters in the Segmentum to carefully eliminate Alistair in the thick of battle. However, a young Krieg guardswoman miraculously learned this plan by eavesdropping on a conversation between the bounty hunter and one of Julianus' officers in a bar. However, she was quickly discovered and was forced to make a run for her life. Running away and losing her pursuers, the soldier went to inform his commanding officer of this terrible plot. Aloysius was terrified of what he heard and immediately tried to contact Alistair. However, not Alistair nor his personal guard were responding. Aloysius then rounded his best men consisting of three squads and marched to warn his commander and friend. When the guardsmen entered the Lord General Militant's personal residence, they saw Alistair in chains and unconscious amidst a mountain of corpses. Despite obvious signs that this was a trap, Aloysius rushed to help his friend and got a rifle stuck landed on his face as a reward. The rag-tag assassination force revealed themselves and, using the element of surprise, attacked the Krieg squads. A bloodbath followed and a squad was entirely wiped out when they finally managed to put up a defensive line. Wanting to leave no witnesses, the assassin triggered a countdown for a bomb that was placed under the house while his forces delayed the guardsmen with all they had. Aloysius knew the risks and the power vacuum that would form if Alistair died and he also didn't wish someone he considered as the best man ever to take the mantle of Lord General Militant to die. Thus, he gave a rash command and ordered both squads to push towards the Lord General Militant under heavy fire. What followed was a massacre that saw them lose another squad. The last squad was also wiped out while retrieving Alistair and trying to leave the residence. The assassins did receive double the casualties but the funds Julianus extended to this bounty hunter were indeed hefty. Eventually, as the last members of the squad took their last breaths, only Aloysius, an extremely weakened Alistair and the Krieg guardswoman who found out about the conspiracy remained. To make the matters worse, Aloysius was shot in the leg and was pinned down. Unable to move, he looked at the last soldier under his command, a shining example of an ideal trooper in his head and a disastrous showcase of his cascading failure to save Alistair properly. He ordered her to guard Alistair regardless of the situation with her life and at all costs. With a final nod did the Kiergswoman bade farewell to the man she had served under for almost all her life and began carrying the Lord General Militant. As they walked outside under heavy fire Aloysius did his best to provide cover fire, receiving multiple other wounds in the process. Not wanting to lose the target, the assassin ordered his troops to advance but just before he pressed the deactivation button Aloysius saw an opportunity and landed a perfect shot on the assassin's hand. The trigger flew away and the bomb went out just before he too bade a final farewell to his commander. Alistair saw him in these last moments and would keep on telling himself that he saw Aloysius literally embracing the growing flames with a serene and happy face. Regaining his senses later that day, Alistair was grateful that he had barely survived the ambush but was horrified by the cost. To make the matters worse, Julianus had also quickly enacted a "Plan B", starting a massive whispering campaign against Alistair. In doing so, however, he solidified the Lord General Militant's doubts in his head, prompting Alistair to take action. To his surprise, however, he later learned from several other associates of the bounty hunter sent to kill him that what saved his life was the bounty hunter's decision to hasten the job because of fearing his plan's compromise and that "his employer" was greatly angered by what he had done. While Alistair's mind was filled to the brim as he both mourned the loss of Aloysius and planned a course of action against Julianus, he was still quick to notice the talent and stubbornness of the Krieg guardswoman who saved his life, as she had snuck around after the assassination attempt. Perhaps to pay some sort of respect to his late friend Aloysius or to simply keep the girl alive, the Lord General Militant hastily decided to take her under his wing and made her the Chief of his personal guard. However, to Alistair's horror, the new "Chief" lacked a name because she had joined the guard when she was merely 8 years old and with little to no memory of her past. Being referred to as with various nicknames over the course of time, she had eventually settled for her official identification as a "name". Of course, this had greatly disturbed the young Lord General Militant and thus, he had quickly and abundantly made it clear that he wouldn't call her with an ID. After some consideration and research, Alistair finally decided to call her Irmina instead, which meant "Brave" in ancient Krieg language. Irmina was reluctant at first, but accepted her new name after a small adjustment period. Eventually, as time went on and each war brought them closer, a relationship resembling a father and daughter formed between the two, finally becoming official after Alistair became the new Lord Commander of Segmentum Tempestus and formally adopted Irmina. Taking Down the Lord Commander of Tempestus ... The New Lord Commander of Tempestus ... Rekindled Friendships and A Disasterous Promotion ... A Spark Of Change ... The Revolution Begins ... Forming A Conspiracy ... The War Behind The Curtain ... Wargear * Justice Incarnate: The Relic Master Crafted Power Sword of Alistair Crackham, Justice Incarnate is also a relic of House Crackham that is said to predate even the founding of the noble house itself. Given to Alistair days before his promotion to a Commissar, the sword is outfitted with a power field generator that is concealed within the hilt and thus is not as exposed as its counterparts. Being the preferred weapon of Alistair, this sword has seen great use during Alistair's long military career and Alistair is so attached to it that he only leaves it behind when it needs to be repaired. In fact, in its long history, this weapon was repaired more than once and yet the Crackhams always ensured that it was repaired by the very best the Imperium of Man could offer. It is not known if this sword has any secret abilities or not but it is certain that it has sentimental value in the High Consul's eyes. * Armor of Retribution: Armor of Retribution is the name given to Alistair's Master Crafted Relic Family Armor, which was recovered after the Second Battle of Terra. Acquiring this armor after cleansing the dark stain of corruption from his family name, Alistair decided to wear the Armor of Retribution to both show House Crackham’s proud legacy and make use of its extremely powerful protection capabilities. The armor itself is a relic of House Crackham and it is presumed to date back to the time when the house was founded, presumably around the 41st or 42nd Millennia. While it is similar to the light carapace armor worn by regiments like Scintillan Fusiliers and offers far less protection compared to a power armor or Kasrkin armor,' '''the ''Armor of Retribution is outfitted with 2 Conversion Fields, thus granting the wearer considerable protection from ranged attacks. Alistair has also modified the armor, lowering its weight at the cost of less protection but adding a Master Crafted Refraction Field to the armor, turning it into a behemoth capable of deflecting any ranged attack. Being someone who prefers fighting in melee, Alistair considers his armor to be as important as his entire personal guard regiment since it ensures that he can survive long enough to engage in melee combat. Thus, thanks to its protective capabilities and lightness as well as Alistair's paranoia, the High Consul wears this armor almost all the time and is rarely seen with another piece of clothing. * True Ideal: True Ideal is a master-crafted relic bolt pistol that Alistair wields alongside his mighty power sword, Justice Incarnate. This Bolt Pistol is said to be used by Vulkan himself until the Istvaan V massacre. After Istvaan V many traitorous space marines are said to have laid their hands on this weapon but eventually it was deemed lost during the final stages of the Horus Heresy. Lacking an owner for almost seventeen thousand years, the pistol was finally recovered by a Chaos Lord and eventually passed down to Alistair after he slew said Chaos Lord on Praetoria, 15 years prior to the New Imperial Revolution. The Lord Commander of Segmentum Tempestus, Alistair Crackham, perhaps out of greed or maybe amazement, turned this weapon into the hands of the Ecclesiarchy and Adeptus Mechanicus, hoping that he would be granted the honor of using it again. Blessed at least 10 times by the Ecclesiarchy priests and inspected by the Adeptus Mechanicus thoroughly, the weapon was deemed worthy to be wielded again and Alistair was granted the right to keep it in his possession by the Segmentum High Command. However, the Salamanders were not happy to let Alistair, a mere mortal, to wield a weapon that allegedly belonged to their Primarch. In retaliation, they directly confronted Alistair, Lord Commander of Tempestus and demanded the immediate return of the weapon. Understanding the grave situation, Alistair decided a peaceful solution was a must and agreed to give the weapon back to the Salamanders, merely asking to deliver it to Nocturne alongside them personally, expressing his amazement of Vulcan. Appreciating the Lord Commander's kind words and complimenting his desire, the Salamanders allowed Alistair to take a form of pilgrimage to Nocturne. However, fate would call for its use on the battlefield again and as Alistair arrived on Nocturne to turn the weapon into the hands of the Salamanders, news reached of a dark eldar raid on a small planet near Nocturne. Joining the Salamanders alongside his forces right after giving the weapon to their Chapter Master, Alistair was unable to do much in battle but miraculously managed to save the life of their Chapter Master, The Regent of Vulkan, by killing a dark eldar assassin that nearly backstabbed and murdered the mighty warrior. What made it all the more impressive was that Alistair had done this by grabbing True Ideal from the ground and taking out the assassin with a single headshot, his blade mere inches away from the Regent of Vulkan's throat. Considering this to be a sign from the Emperor himself, the Salamanders granted Alistair the right to carry the bolt pistol until his death and on the condition that it would be returned after his passing. Wholeheartedly agreeing the most gracious terms of the Salamanders, the High Consul has kept the bolt pistol very close to his person ever since. * Rosarius: Being one of the very few mortals to be blessed with finding and using a Rosarius, Alistair received his Rosarius from a very special person and one of his closest allies, the Ebony Dagger herself. Combat Preferences Even though the High Consul is protected by the Crimson Wardens all the time, Alistair does not cover behind his guards. He is a master in the art of close combat and he puts that trait into use very often. The High Consul favors getting to close combat as fast as he can so that he would not be shot down. Being trained from a young age, he is the best swordsman within the New Imperium, with his skills rivaling even the mighty Adeptus Astartes. He is a colossus of war and wears an ancient family armor that was heavily modified to greatly protect him from ranged fire, in order to help him reach melee without being shot down. While Alistair has a massive arsenal filled with all kinds of different weapons (except grenades), he prefers using his Power Sword Justice Incarnate and his bolt pistol The True Ideal. Relationships Irmina Crackham Irmina Crackham is the adopted daughter of Alistair Crackham, the High Consul of the New Imperium, with strong, tight-knit bonds that predate Alistair's ascension to Lord Solar. As a result, they both greatly love and respect each other as father and daughter. Irmina is also trained in the art of politics, at the request of her father, and thus have formed her own opinion regarding politics. This caused Irmina to be a very vocal person just like Alistair wanted her to be but also regarded as a very vocal voice of the opposition within the magnificent halls of the Great Council. Indeed, her opinion regarding the New Imperium differs from her father's to such an extent that she even openly criticizes Alistair's motives and ideas at times, completely disregarding the fearful and scornful looks around her. Moreover, Irmina's strict training and Krieg culture is another thing that affects their relationship. While Alistair is also a strict and disciplined man in his own right, he is nowhere as serious as Irmina is and by extent, sometimes fails to understand Irmina's strict nature and actions. In the end, however, to Alistair she is still her daughter and even though there will always be heated debates between them, plus he will most likely fail at making Irmina slightly more lighthearted, she is still his family and thus an inseparable part of the High Consul. She just needs some time to embrace the vision he has for the New Imperium. Virgil Arsalor Virgil Arsalor is a Hero of the New Imperium and someone that would've been qualified as a "saint" by the old Imperial standards. An Afriel Strain soldier, Virgil was cured of his luckless state via unknown means and made himself known to the galaxy only recently. Despite the fact that many see him as a saint, however, Virgil willingly and openly refused this title, pledging his allegiance to the New Imperium instead. Racing from planet to planet, he brought many victories and tactical assets in his wake and even helped convince a Space Marine Chapter to support the Reformist cause. Indeed, one of Virgil's most important deeds was to persuade the Blood Angels to join the New Imperium during the New Imperial Revolution. Thanks to his merit and all those remarkable traits, Alistair sees Virgil as a great friend and ally, one he finds enjoyable to talk with. However, it should be noted that Virgil mostly prefers listening and speaks only when spoken to during these debates. Still, both men greatly respect each other and it is this mutual respect that made them view each other as equally close allies and great friends. Virgil is also a very strong drinker, or is claimed to be one by the High Consul, causing him to be sometimes teased by Alistair for this "talent". Personality and Traits Alistair's most characteristic quirks originate from his childhood. His fervor and passionate stance are a direct product of his entanglement with the Terran underworld as well as his ability to get into fights with most of his tutors over differing opinions. His leadership skills are mostly natural but were first amplified by the colonel Murad Carolus and gradually grew as time went on and he gained more and more experience. However, his cheery attitude and authoritarian views are a direct product of the High Consul's career and traumas that he faced on the battlefied. In his own eyes, Alistair laughs to honor all those that fell and will fall on the bloody path he walked while he maintains strict authority because of knowing that fall is inevitable if there is no central power. Thus, he stamps on all those who wish to nullify the sacrifices of untold trillions that died for Mankind without the tiniest flicker of a doubt and with a smile on his face. While a display of his slightly egotistical and self centered views on politics and war, as even Alistair admits they are at times, these notions have nonetheless provided him with the necessary conviction and willpower to carry on at points where many fell. Bearing those in mind, it can be said that Alistair is, at his core, a staunch idealist. However, the long years of constant and brutal campaigning and military career, coupled with his equally stretching training as a commissar has prevented Alistair from dragging himself into an early grave like many other fellow idealists as these traits caused Alistair to lose the naive essence that most idealists carry. While other, more realist elements of the New Imperial Government, including his adopted daughter Irmina, would criticize him for seeing things as he wants them to be, this is far from the truth. Alistair knows with a heavy heart that his upbeat and sometimes even outright flamboyant behavior mostly helps him raise morale and thus, for the sake of providing even the slightest shred of hope and willpower to his compatriots, he maintains his smile and charisma even in the face of an obviously wrecked situation. Moreover, he doesn't see things as he wants but instead the way they are, then he works day and night to turn them into what he wants. This, perhaps, is the most defining trait of the High Consul. In terms of strategies and war, Alistair is best described as a genius. However, ingenuity also comes in the form of constant inner dilemmas and moral conflicts over relatively small issues that may greatly plague the High Consul's mind. He is decisive, yet he knows that every decision he makes will gravely haunt him in his following life, which mostly does occur indeed. He is a careful commander capable of great perception, but maintains a rather absent-minded state when he is relaxing or if he has delved into thought. However, focus is an important aspect in the life of every politician and through dangerous assassination attempts as well as missed political opportunities, the High Consul has somewhat learned when to delve into an inner philosophical debate with a rather absent-minded stance and when to stand on guard. Alistair also greatly respects philosophy and is known to have formed strong friendships with people he believes to be capable of understanding the constant metaphors and questions his mind drags him into, strangely disregarding their political allegiance. While this causes him to have close-knit relations even with people that politically oppose him, it also makes Alistair susceptible to threats that arise from empathy. To add, this behavior also adds a lot of weight on Irmina's shoulders as well since she too has a greatly caring and slightly paranoid side like Alistair and being his chief of security does not help at all. Quotes Trivia * Alistair hates using grenades and does not carry them, mainly because he has developed a phobia for grenades during his time as a commissar. As a result, he does not use them unless it is absolutely necessary. *Alistair is born as right handed and used his right hand as his main sword hand until he became a Cadet-Commissar. His mentor, Unity, wanted Alistair to master using both of his hands when it came to melee weapons, and Alistair did so. However, since he knows that his left hand is weaker compared to the right, his sword is placed under his right hand, in order for him to make better use of his offhand. Category:New Imperium